


all the things we know

by orphan_account



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: AU-ish?, F/M, Reincarnation, What's a timeline? What is canon? Who cares?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 07:22:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11226087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Robin and Starfire first met in Jump City; this is not true for Richard and Koriand'r.





	all the things we know

**Author's Note:**

> Entry into DickKory Week 2017 Day #3 - Home. Unbeta'd.

_Robin and Starfire meet with alien attacks and Vegan technology, with buildings being knocked to the ground, the infrastructure of a city nearing destruction. They meet with flashes of flaming hair, of black and green. They meet with the scent of battle and blood and electricity in the air, with franticness and close calls, with an agreement into a steady relationship, into stability. Robin and Starfire meet among the stars._

 

The first time Robin and Starfire meet is in Jump – Starfire’s eyes are wild, her skin is marked with bruises and burns, and her fear and fierceness are almost palpable in the furrow of her eyebrows, the violence of a bloodlust grin. Robin is equal parts astonished, worried, and impressed.

 

The first time Robin and Starfire meet, it leads to the formation of the Teen Titans, to years of training and crime-fighting and blending Earthen and Tamaranean culture; of shy smiles and red cheeks and the phrase “best friend,” and finally, into a love openly admitted.

 

_This is the first time Robin and Starfire meet; this is not the first time Richard and Koriand’r do._

 

They do not know this – to each other, they were complete strangers before Starfire’s stolen spaceship had crashlanded and created a burning crater in the ground - despite the feeling of familiarity in the first look they had exchanged. To each other, their love is something new and fresh, something they had never explored or dared to believe could occur. To each other – Robin and Starfire, chance in the form of brutal superheroism is what brought them together.

 

_Robin and Starfire meet in the stars, but Richard and Koriand’r find each other on ground and grass._

 

Yet still, Starfire dreams of Earth in a vastly different light, a world that is both even more foreign than the one she has arrived in and yet one she is accustomed to; her barren legs and the ground, rough against her soles, hiding and slipping in between shadows – and running, running, endless running. From thin cloaks being shared, to the echo of ringing church bells, to the feeling of flying even when she is bound by gravity.

 

_“You are the only one I trust,” Koriand’r says this with finality. “I have no more family – you are the only person I truly know, Richard.”_

_“You would be safer elsewhere, more comfortable elsewhere,” Richard pleads. “You are strong and capable. There are – there are empires willing to take you, to help you take back your throne. You should not have to live as I do.”_

_She smiles at him gently, but with determination; something different from her often bright beams. “This is true, but I have chosen you, Richard. We have chosen each other.”_

 

She wakes up from these dreams with cold sweat running down the length of her spine despite the heat emanating from her body. She hugs Robin closer and thinks, _it is safe with him, I am home._

 

_Richard and Koriand’r meet in lives filled with the harshness of humanity, with naked feet on rocks and through mud, the smallest of coins gripped tightly, traded prudently. Weapons are hidden and they remain watchful, for fear of being captured – of their freedom being taken away. Richard and Koriand’r meet with the same caution in the set of their shoulders that Robin and Starfire are forced to have; but for Richard and Koriand’r, it is not threats from rogues or apocalypses or alien lords, but from kings and castles and a different war entirely._

 

Yet still, Robin knows when he’s met people before – and he _knows_ Starfire, he has seen the same verdant green in her eyes in someone else’s – but he can’t figure out _who._ He thinks of family and friends and superheroes and rogues and his mind comes blank but he _knows_ Starfire. He has _met_ her before, not in battle and not in space, but with stone and sulfur, among something ancient in his ancestry. He has seen her face, illuminated by kindling fires instead of starbolts. They have fought before, without her superpowers and without his training – with simple human capabilities, with cloaked knives and with injuries and with more fleeing than fighting.

 

_“I have seen you before,” Koriand’r declares the night they meet, green eyes wide and confused. “Are you not the Lord Wayne’s son?”_

_He flinches – how did she know? He had judged her to be another wanderer, someone else looking for a safe place to rest and to find shelter, but perhaps his judgment had been ill – although that is uncommon. Richard is sharp, and he is careful – he sees through people. He had met her before then, perhaps…?_

_A banquet filled with familiar and foreign royals, extravagantly spent money, a girl with braided red hair and a crown. “You’re – aren’t you Princess Koriand’r? Why are you here?” He is surprised to see her, especially this far from her own land._

_“The war has not boded well for my family, and I had to flee,” she confesses. “I admit, I am happy to have found you, but why are you not with the Lord Wayne?”_

_His laugh is short and resentful. “We have become estranged. I chose to leave.” It is almost the truth._

_She is silent for a moment, thinking, then turns to him. “I suppose we will have to be allies,” her smile is wide, her tone confident. He considers her – ferocious and well-trained, a warrior through and through. Later on, he will know that she is much more than an escaped warrior princess; that she is also kind, and earnest, and gives her whole heart. That she is passion and delight and conviction and strength. But for now he thinks, yes – she will make a great ally._

Robin breaks out of these reveries when Starfire speaks, coaxing him away from work and the spirals of his thoughts, her words warm and loving. Robin stands up and he thinks, _I’ll worry another time, but for now - I’m home, and everything is fine._

 

_Richard and Koriand’r’s lives are filled with cruelty - but it also brings with it lines of salt and spice, protections against evils that no one can fully comprehend. It brings with it loud music in forests, accompanied by dancing feet. It brings with it the warmth of cobblestones and specks of moonlight through canopies of trees, it brings with it magic and madness. Their names are Richard and Koriand’r, not Robin and Starfire, and they are wandering souls._

To each other, ideas of vagabonds and of travellers forced to know nothing but scrounging and persecution and freedom and each other – these are all stories, concocted in moments of desperation and imagination. To each other, these are all tales created in their own brains, images of lives that never were.

 

_“We are both wanderers, yes?” Koriand’r’s voice is accompanied by the buzz of insects, the quiet sound of the wind through leaves, the hum of the stars above them, around them._

_“Yes, this we know is true,” Richard’s reply is candid and contemplative._

_“Perhaps, then – if we are both meant to wander endlessly – we can be each other’s home.”_

 

They do not know that this was their past, that this is repetition of a legend that ended with predestined ruination. That everything continues in cycles of bitter laughter, in strings of irony woven by needles sharp enough to scar, of heartbreak in spades. They are young and brave, and even if they knew, they would still be willing to try - because time and time again, they are each other’s home.

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I'm sorry this took so long! I originally planned to make a multi-chapter work (which I might write once I get time) but I've been busy so...
> 
> Second, as usual - this is unbeta'd and I'm relatively new to DCU, so kudos, comments, and criticism are all appreciated! If I get the characterization a little off then I apologize, I'm still making my way through all things canonically about Dick or Kory. If there are other errors feel free to message me!
> 
> Third - I actually like this one, but tell me if the writing style is odd or anything. I hope you like it, thanks!


End file.
